Serer language

The Serer language also called Serer-Sine (proper: Seereer-Siin) is a language of the Senegambian branch of the Niger–Congo family spoken by most of the Serer people of Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania. Other members of the Serer ethnic group speaks one of the Cangin languages such as Saafi, Ndut, Lehar, Palor and Noon. The Cangin languages are not dialects of Serer-Sine although the speakers are ethnically Serer.

Quotes

• N’dour helped to develop a style of popular Senegalese music known in the Serer language as mbalax, which derives from the conservative Serer music tradition of “Njuup”.
  • AllAfrica.com on the Serer and Senegalese singer Youssou N’dour. "Nigeria: 10 Hottest African Artistes Making Global Waves" : "Youssou N’dour, Senegal", May, 29th 2015

• Senegalese musician, Youssou N’dour, takes the No 1 spot to his home country. This Senegalese singer is widely considered the most famous singer alive in Senegal and much of Africa. His style of music, popularly known as Mbalax, is a mix of Senegalese traditional music the Serer language and various styles from around the world including Cuban rhumba, Hip Hop, Jazz and Soul.
  • New Era on rich African musician, "Namibian musicians not richest in SADC or Africa", February 7th, 2014

• In French West Africa, the Serer language was rendered distinct from Wolof by French geographers and linguists. Once a particular, geographically bounded people were assigned to a particular language, then a variety of institutions - the school, the law courts, the church - obliged them to learn it.
  • By professors Derek Peterson, Kodzo Gavua and Ciraj Rassool on the Serer language during the French colonial era. "The Politics of Heritage in Africa" Peterson, Derek; Gavua, Kodzo; Rassool, Ciraj, p.205, Cambridge University Press (2015), ISBN 9781107094857

• Serer language was very similar to the languages spoken by the Wolof, Fulbe, Toucouleur, and Mandinka peoples. The customs and institutions of the five were also very much alike, although a commitment to pastoral life was unique to the Fulbe, and the practice of matrilineal inheritance was found only among the Serer.
  • Professor Martin Klein on Serer history of Sine and Saloum during the colonial era and the Muslim marabout wars of the 19th century. Klein, Martin A., "Islam and Imperialism in Senegal: Sine-Saloum, 1847-1914", p. 7, Stanford University Press (1968), ISBN 9780804706216

Sources

• AllAfrica.com "Nigeria: 10 Hottest African Artistes Making Global Waves" : "Youssou N’dour, Senegal" May, 29th 2015
• New Era "Namibian musicians not richest in SADC or Africa" February, 7th 2014
• Peterson, Derek; Gavua, Kodzo; Rassool, Ciraj, "The Politics of Heritage in Africa", p.205, Cambridge University Press (2015), ISBN 9781107094857 [1]
• Klein, Martin A., "Islam and Imperialism in Senegal: Sine-Saloum, 1847-1914", p. 7, Stanford University Press (1968), ISBN 9780804706216 [2]